Barely 18 months ago, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) was in crisis. Its stock price suffered a peak-to-trough decline of 76% between 2021 and 2022 (bottoming at around $90 a share). The social media giant also lost its prized $1 trillion-plus valuation. Investors were concerned about Meta's outsized spending on developing a metaverse while its flagship social networks -- Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp -- suffered declining advertising revenue.

In 2023, CEO Mark Zuckerberg launched an initiative to right the ship by having the company focus on a "year of efficiency." He slashed jobs, cut costs across the board, and turned the company's attention to further developing its artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives to improve the user experience on the company's core platforms.

The results were nothing short of spectacular. Not only did Meta's revenue and earnings soar throughout 2023, but its stock also logged the second-largest gain in the entire S 500 index for the year.

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Source Fool.com